WRC 3 Playtest

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Sony's rally game gets better with each installment.

By IGN Staff

We know, we know... WRC 4 has already been announced. So why are we writing about WRC3 now? WRC3, the year 2003 entry in Sony Computer Entertainment's rally series, has so far remained a European release, making it a bit difficult for IGNPS2 to obtain. Until now, that is, as Japanese publisher Spike released the game in Japan this past week. So, here we are, an American website writing about the Japanese release of a European game. The world just got smaller!

WRC stands for "World Rally Championship and, as one may expect, is a world-wide rally event aimed at crowning the world's king of rally. The WRC game series, the official game of the FIA World Rally Championship, aims at capturing the feeling of the world's dustiest sport on the videogame screen.

Developer Evolution Studios did a bang-up job of things in previous installments, both for the PlayStation 2, and WRC 3 improves upon the series in every aspect. WRC3 adds to the series a new rally event set in Turkey and, of course, 2003-spec cars. In all, you'll find seven official WRC cars along with thirty-five unlockable cars, including concept and "extreme" cars which were designed by actual car makers and WRC teams. The Turkey event brings the number of different stages up to 125 (completely unique courses!) set across fourteen different events.

For those keeping score, WRC 3 lets you take part in Rally Monte Carlo, Swedish Rally, Rally of Turkey, Rally New Zealand, Rally Argentina, Acropolis Rally, Cyprus Rally, Rally Deutschland, Rally Finland, Rally Australia, Rally Sanremo, Rally De France, Rally Catalunya and Wales Rally GB, each with up to nine lengthy race tracks (some taking up to ten minutes to get through from start to finish). Teams include Peugeot Total, Ford Motor Company, Mitsubishi Motors Sports, Subaru World Rally Team, Skoda Motor Sport, Hyundai World Rally Team and Citroen Total. Your favorite drivers are included as well, of course.

The emphasis on realism carries over from previous games throughout all aspects of WRC3. Driving physics are more realistic than ever, with cars reacting to every bump on the road, and even flipping over if things get too rough. Presentation should keep rally fans happy, with long views of the digital versions of all the famous courses, lots of dust kicking up with every motion, and a very specific co-pilot directing you as you drive.

On top of this is even greater detail for all areas of rally racing, from team biographies and video introductions to detailed 3D views of cars (featuring twice the detail of last year's edition). The amount of video footage in this game is surprising, and it's incorporated seamlessly into the game's interface so you won't find yourself waiting.

Beginners needn't worry about getting bogged down with details. Car modifications are kept simple, so you won't need to be a regular mechanic before actually getting into a race. The main WRC mode of play doesn't require the time investment of something like Gran Turismo, so you can play the main mode of play casually if you like. For those who want to race around their favorite track, a time attack mode allows you to select a course and driver. And for those who don't have the patience for that, a quick race mode chooses a track and car for you at random.

Rally fans with Japanese-import-ready PS2 systems will want to give WRC 3 a look now that it's in a more import-friendly territory. Unfortunately (but expectedly), the game has been translated entirely into the Japanese language for its Japanese release. This includes all specification and biography screens and all verbal directions from your co-pilot. Thankfully, the icons that appear on screen as your co-pilot speaks means the language barrier shouldn't get too much in the way of actual gameplay.

Those not interested in importing last year's WRC 3 will have to hope that WRC 4, and its 8-player Online mode, actually makes its way stateside following its planned Christmas 2004 European release.